Aratasaurus

Say it like this: “ah-RAH-tah-SOR-us”

Aratasaurus museunacionali

Aratasaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Brazil.

Quiz me on Aratasaurus

When: Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 2020 · Sayão, J. M.; Saraiva, A. Á. F.; Brum, A. S.; Bantim, R. A. M.; de Andrade, R. C. L. P.; Cheng, X.; de Lima, F. J.; de Paula Silva, H.; Kellner, A. W. A.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 3.1 m · 10 ft
Weight: 34 kg · 75 lb
Found in: Brazil · Romualdo
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Coelurosauria

The story in short

Aratasaurus was formally named in 2020 by J. M. Sayão and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Aratasaurus date to the Early Cretaceous (Albian), roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from Brazil, including the Romualdo Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Aratasaurus at a length near 3.1 m and a body mass around 34 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Coelurosauria, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Aniksosaurus

Aniksosaurus darwini

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago

Bicentenaria

Bicentenaria argentina

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago

Calamospondylus

Calamospondylus oweni

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago